Spring City man donates to community, asks for little in return

SPRING CITY — After giving quite a bit to his community over the past few years, Raymond Megay really doesn’t ask for a lot.

When he donated money for the memorial at the Liberty Steam Fire Company, Megay only requested that he be allowed to raise the first flag there in memory of his wife, Betty.

Most recently, when he donated the money to purchase bikes and uniforms for the Spring City Police’s first bike patrol, Megay only asked that his 15-year-old neighbor get a seat at the front of the local Halloween parade this year.

In addition to the donations for the bike patrol and the memorial at the fire station, Megay also donated money in 2009 to buy the police assault rifles to use during potentially dangerous drug raids and other situations.

“He’s a pretty humble guy,” said Spring City Mayor Michael Weiss. “I thought he should be recognized for that.”

At the Borough Council meeting June 3, Weiss presented Megay with a plaque for his continued philanthropy for the town.

“They gave me this beautiful plaque,” Megay said Sunday, chuckling. “I would’ve rather they used the money for new tubes for the bicycles. But (Weiss) insisted.”

Megay said he gives because he likes his “little town” and since he’s in the position to donate, he wants everyone to benefit.

Having a private citizen come forward to help out community services and organizations is huge when budgets have become so difficult.

“It’s like a breath of fresh air,” Kuklinski said. “Today, all the funding is dried up for these kinds of things. For a local resident to step up and say police fire and vets need assistance, that’s amazing.”

A Spring City bike patrol will allow the police to monitor the Schuylkill River Trail.

“You can get a car there but it’s pretty tricky to get it down there,” Megay said, calling the bikes “worth the money.”

Kuklinski said the bike patrols will run through the summer and into October, “or as the weather permits.”

“It really helps to have that,” Weiss said.

The fact that Megay has donated multiple times really struck Weiss.

“Who donates to a police department two different times?” he said. “It’s just a great thing. It never happens in our society.”

“It made me feel good doing that, just knowing I could do it,” Megay said.